Little Italy

Little Italy Mott Street Transformation from Italian to Chinese

Little Italy’s Mott Street

Chinatown’s Mott Street

Little Italy

Restaurant in Little Italy

The restaurant owner here said that Italians are moving away from Little Italy because of the influx of Chinese immigrants. He said that they now cater their food to tourists, however they try to prepare the food as they traditionally would in Southern Italy. The owner said that he prefers fresh cheese and natural flavors. He stressed that simple, tasty food was better than with many toppings or spices.

Caffe Napoli

Workers at Cafe Napoli, who are from Naples, said that the difference between New York “Neapolitan” pizza, is the water difference in New York and in Italy. They said that the dough rises differently with the yeast and water in Italy. They said that there was not much of a difference in the sauce other than the water, and that the cheese was similar as long as it is quality mozzarella like in Naples.

Little Italy natives suggested going down to Joe’s Pizzera on Carmine Street in the West Village.